News Report #1

CES: The earphones That Stay out of Your Ears”
Andrew LaVallee, Wall Street Journal
1/08/2009
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/01/08/ces-the-earphones-that-stay-out-of-your-ears/“


This article is discussing a new product of headphones. The difference with this set of headphones is that they are considered a “neck set” which means that they will rest on your shoulders and carry the sound up to you ears. These headphones have been created due to the concerns that regular ear buds can cause hearing problems and also because headphones are uncomfortable when worn for a long period of time. This specific set of headphones is being produced my NxSet. The price will start at $79.95. The company is considering the product to be a social project because it will allow for others to hear the music with the listener.

I personally think that these new headphones are pointless. The whole idea of headphone is to be able to listen to the much you want without distracting others. Not everyone wants to listen to the music you are playing. Also these can be very distracting depending on how loud the user has the volume set. These new headphones seem to be no different than a boom bow sitting on you shoulders or on the floor. The only difference they have is that the headphones would lighter to carry around. As for the hearing problem issue, I feel that if someone wants to listen to loud music they should be able to. Odds are that these people know the affects of listening to music that close to you eardrums with regular headphones and they are responsible for any damage they cause to themselves. It is similar to smoking; people know the affects but do it anyway. Overall I think this new technology it a waste of resources and money. Plus they are priced a little high for what they are.